In 1922, a majority of Innisfil residents voted in favour of purchasing land at the foot of Lake Simcoe to create the public park that has grown to become Innisfil Beach Park. The total cost they were voting on was $1,800.
In two weeks, Innisfil councillors will vote on a master plan for the park that will span the next two decades, allowing residents an additional opportunity to become familiar with the proposal and share their thoughts with their ward representatives.
The total cost of this project is more than $47.8 million.
Staff presented the Innisfil Beach Park Implementation Plan at Wednesday's council meeting in hopes that the master plan for the next 20 years would be approved at that meeting.
Rather, councillors voted to defer the matter to the May 24 meeting, so more residents could fully grasp what the plan entails, including the new hybrid model created out of the previous options presented.
Former Ward 2 councillor Donna Orsatti lobbied for the deferral during open forum.
“In my eight years on council, there were times of reflection after a vote that I felt we could have handled that item differently, to best meet the needs of our residents, who because of work or personal commitments did not have the time to read an item that impacts them in the agenda until after the evening’s vote,” she said. “(A deferral) would allow residents to review the new hybrid model proposed in the model they may not have seen.
"This impacts all residents in Innisfil and I feel that this would be a proactive approach of gaining residents' support and understanding, versus receiving reactive comments as the recommended phases begin," Orsatti added.
Orsatti was part of the previous council which approved the master-plan vision for the park in 2020, which was created to rationalize planning decision, give direction on park design and assist staff and councillors in their decision-making regarding Innisfil Beach Park in long- and short-term scenarios.
Since then, that master plan has overseen improvements to the park, such as the modular pump track in June 2021 and the opening of a new section of train in July 2022.
The implementation plan in front of council at the May 10 meeting has been in the works for nearly a year. It was envisioned as a guiding document in a refurbishment of Innisfil Beach Park to ensure it continues to meet the needs of residents and tourists in the coming decades, specifically focusing on infrastructure needs – from servicing to traffic flow – that will secure the stability and usability of future amenities.
Consultants presented five different proposals for the park throughout a series of open houses, public information centres and various other communication methods. Along with “hundreds of comments,” staff indicated 338 people took part in a survey to rank the options.
From those results, the two most populous options – suggesting enhancements to the existing park and extensively transforming the park, respectively – were merged into a hybrid option, which was the recommendation staff put in front of council for ratification.
The hybrid option, as presented, contains 49 projects that would be completed in three phases over the next 20 years. Phase 1 is planned to be constructed during 2025 and 2026, Phase 2 in 2029 and 2030, and Phase 3 in 2035 and 2036.
Spread out through the three phases would be an enhanced beach area including new washroom and playground amenities (Phase 1), relocated boat launch and dock systems (Phase 2) and an event plaza and restaurant (Phase 3).
The plan also calls for new park entrances and improved vehicular and pedestrian travel routes through the park as well as significant landscaping and tree planting. The new entrance planned off 25th Sideroad particularly rankled resident Donna Sykes, who also spoke during the open forum.
“This change in entrances will move the minor inconveniences from Innisfil Beach Road, which is a primary road, to becoming a major problem on Lebanon Drive, which is residential,” she said. “It will be a nightmare for these residents.”
Sykes also questioned if the survey could be considered a true snapshot of how the community felt about the option, given that so few people ended up casting a vote.
The town has already committed nearly $2.59 million to the park’s revitalization, and staff is seeking $954,000 of that to be put toward the detailed design and construction of Phase 1. There is also a placeholder in the 2024 capital budget for $6,155,189, giving the town a little more than $7.1 million to complete the first phase of the plan.
But an extra nearly $4 million would be required to ensure everything planned for Phase 1 makes it into the park. That approximately $11-million price tag had Coun. Kevin Eisses wondering what taxpayers would be on the hook for. He was relieved to hear of the town’s financing options.
“This project is DC (development charge) eligible; there is a percentage of benefit to existing versus benefit to growth,” said Jessica Jenkins, capital engineering manager. “We typically use DC funding for the benefit to growth and then we use ARS (alternative revenue source) funding, which is typically from our casino money, to pay for the benefit to existing portion. So, this isn’t being funded by the capital reserve.”
Staff investigated an option to complete the project in one fell swoop, a move that would result in an overall lower budget but impact the quality of life for Innisfil residents and visitors. Staff reported that not only would such a move require the town to take on debt to complete, but it would also close Innisfil Beach Park entirely for at least two years.
The potential “significant negative impact on the local economy, tourism and the community,” was reason enough for staff to recommend the three-phase approach.
After a debate on the report, Coun. Alex Waters moved for deferral with the unanimous agreement of his colleagues. Mayor Lynn Dollin said she welcomed the additional feedback from the public but wanted to make sure her colleagues around the table were able to explain to residents why these changes were being proposed in the first place.
“This is for us; these improvements are for Innisfil and we’re making them for our residents,” she said. “Not just the residents who can walk to the park, but for residents who have to drive from Stroud or Cookstown to come to the park. It’s for everyone.”
